Gift Lab: Will this Portable Phone Charger & Light Overpower the Other Guys?

Product

Research

I was looking for a new portable battery. I have a few good ones I use regularly, and they are a life saver when you have been snapping and tweeting all day. I hate receiving that dreadful notification: LOW BATTERY. When it appears on my screen, I die little inside. I’m always on the hunt for a new portable battery.

I go to a lot of tech events, snapping and tweeting my life away, so I wanted another battery to add to my collection. The color and design of this one first caught my eye, but I was skeptical about using it. In my experience, the more attractive the battery looks, the less likely I am to receive a full charge. Usually I receive only a slight boost. But I was willing to try it out.

Hypothesis

I have a few events I am attending where I will not have time or the opportunity to be glued to an outlet to charge my phone. Once I fully charge the battery, I will use it when my phone battery hits 25%, and the portable battery will (hopefully!) charge me to 100%, giving me a 75% charge.

Experiment

The package is simple, and includes the battery and a USB cord. To charge the battery, it has to be plugged into a computer, but if you have an Android charger, you can use it to charge the battery from an outlet. I noticed the USB cord that came with the portable battery was not compatible with iPhones. In order for me to charge my phone, I had to use my own iPhone cord.

The surface of the battery is a light. When turned on, it’s a bright red or white light, which can be consistent or flickering. I want the battery to charge my phone and do not need to use it as a flashlight, but it is a cool feature. The battery has a power indicator, and once all four circles at the side of the battery are lit, I know the battery is completely charged.

The morning of my first event, a conference, I left my house at 8 a.m. with both phone and portable battery fully charged. I took a couple of selfies and snapped a bit on my way to the conference.

I was tweeting away, documenting all the memorable quotes by women on inclusion and empowerment, uploading videos on Instagram, and snapping a bit. I try to avoid overusing Snapchat, as this is the one social media platform that drains my battery quickly. The day was going by and I hit 23% battery left around 1 p.m. I began to charge my phone using the portable charger, still using my phone while it was charging. I saw that my battery life increased a bit, so I was happy it was working.

When my phone reached 67% I saw that it was no longer charging. I unplugged the charger and plugged it back in, but that was all. The charger had no more charge. This was a bit disappointing, since I was hoping it would be take me to 100%, but I still got a solid 50% charge. Although the charger couldn’t charge my phone any longer, the flashlight worked fine; it was still bright and shining, far from being dull.

I went to a few different events over the following months and brought the charger to each one. I received the same results: The charger would give my phone battery about a 50% increase, and once my phone completely charged, the flashlight would still work.

Conclusion

The charger works, and will give your phone at least 50% charge, with the flashlight continuing to work even after it’s stopped charging your phone. It won’t boost you from 0% to 100%, but it’s a useful tool for when you’re running low without access to an outlet and need to tide yourself over… and if you happen to be stuck in the dark.

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